It might be challenging balancing sports and school, but there’s a way to do it
For first-year students, the transition to university can be really tough, even more so for those who want to watch sports. It can be challenging to balance your priorities. I still love to watch live sports on TV, but being in my third year at Concordia, I’ve learned a thing or two about balancing school and sports. Here’s what you need to do to survive university as a sports fan.
1) Know your priorities: Is that Montreal Canadiens preseason game really that much more important than your 3000-word essay due yesterday? Probably not. But what if your football team is playing in the Sunday-night game against their division rivals? Well, that’s a game you can’t miss. As a student, when you want to watch a particular game, you have to decide what you really want to watch. Once you do, you probably have to take into consideration what time it’s at, then you can plan your day accordingly. Personally, I use games as motivation to complete my assignments — my personal deadline is whenever my favourite team is playing.
2) Do not stress: Watching sports is supposed to be relaxing, and as a student, you need that. Everybody has a hobby and clearly yours is watching sports, so just do it! Sometimes you may get swamped with work, but it’s okay to take a 30-minute break to catch the end of a game. Hopefully, if your team wins, it will give you some extra motivation to work. In the middle of writing this, I stopped to watch extra time of the Copenhagen-Atalanta Europa League qualifier. You can’t bury yourself in books all day and forget about your passion.
3) Go out and play sports: Playing a sport is one of the best ways to destress from school. Whether it’s going to the gym or signing up for a team sport, students need that physical activity. Watching sports is one way of taking a break from school, but playing one is also great, and important, for your mental and physical health. I love playing team sports because it gives me that physical exercise and a certain element of socializing that going to the gym doesn’t have. If you’re a student new to Montreal, Concordia has intramural hockey, soccer, basketball, ultimate frisbee, and volleyball that you can sign up for on your own or as a team. Get out there and play!
